Paradise Lost: A Game Where You Play as…an Alien Plant?

In recent weeks, I have been looking up lists of the most anticipated, and most unique, recent or upcoming indie games. One game that was mentioned on several different occasions was Paradise Lost: First Contact (though on one web site, it was listed under the name Paradise Never). In this game, you play as an intelligent alien plant that is attempting to escape the scientific facility that discovered it. According to the game’s Kickstarter page, Paradise Lost takes inspiration from such games as Metal Gear, Castlevania, and one series that has me excited above all else, Metroid. In fact, the game would have made me think of Super Metroid without the comparison even needing to be made, thanks to the mention of a complex map to explore, including many sections that you won’t be able to access until a later time, once you have the proper abilities, I imagine. Oh, and the retro style of graphics helps, too.

One major element of the game appears to be stealth as you work to avoid the facility’s security forces. Furthermore, something that really has me interested is the option to choose what new abilities your alien can learn, meaning that the game can be played differently for each person, depending on what skills you choose to acquire and which ones you don’t. It sounds as if we’ll have an interesting variety of abilities to choose from, as well, including mind control and decoys. Yes, please! The developer also promises to include plenty of secrets to discover and an interesting story filled with surprises.

Video from Youtube User: Ashtree Works

The game is still under development and taking pledges on Kickstarter, and it seems no release date has been planned any time soon. While their initial goal of $70,000 has easily been surpassed with nearly $145,000, they are certainly a long way off from reaching their highest listed goal of $270,000. It’ll be interesting to see how the game changes as each goal is reached, though some promised improvements include secret chapters and the release of this game on PlayStation consoles in addition to its already-planned PC release.

And once again, we come to the part of the post where you, dear readers, can provide your own thoughts on the matter at hand. Does Paradise Lost look like an interesting game to you? What aspect of the game sounds the most promising? Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.